The present invention relates generally to the field of voice telecommunication, and more specifically to the field of delivering messages to live recipients and recording devices.
Due to the ubiquity of telephone answering devices, such as answering machines, voice-mail systems, etc., few telephone calls go unanswered. Thus, due to this increase in telephone connectivity, the importance of reliably and efficiently communicating messages to live recipients, as well as recording devices, is great. Although the ability of a live caller to distinguish whether a live person or a recording device is answering a telephone call is often straight-forward, such distinction is more difficult when delivering pre-recorded messages.
Currently, systems are available where pre-recorded messages are delivered in the same predetermined manner to live recipients or recording devices. In a typical scenario, a telephone call is placed, and as soon as the call is answered, and a signal is received by the recipient (known as answer supervision), the pre-recorded message is played. Often these systems are instructed to play the message up to three times to ensure that the entire message is received. If the message is received by a recording device, the recordation of the message will begin at whatever point the message is at when the device goes into its recording mode. Thus, upon playing the incoming message, recipients often hear a message starting at the middle of the pre-recorded statement, and then the entire message one or two times thereafter.
A significant disadvantage of current message delivery systems is the technical compromise between facilitating quick delivery to live parties, against ensuring that the message is not delivered to the answering device until it is ready to record. The delivery systems for pre-recorded messages, that are currently available, are not capable of adapting their delivery to the environment created by the recipient. It is therefore desirable to improve the delivery of pre-recorded messages such that an entire message may be delivered from beginning to end in a single transmission, and where the responsiveness of the delivery to a live recipient and a recording device are equally reliable.
It is therefore an advantage of the present invention to maximize responsiveness in delivering a pre-recorded message to either a live person or recording device. This advantage is accomplished by monitoring the environment of a recipient of the pre-recorded message for an initial predetermined silence/energy condition and begin message delivery when that condition is met. After message delivery has begun, the energy/silence condition may be continuously monitored, and message delivery ceased upon sensing a predetermined level of noise or speech energy. Moreover, in another aspect of the present invention, the method includes recommencing the transmission of the pre-recorded message from the beginning upon subsequent detection of the desired silence/energy condition.
In yet another aspect of the present invention, the method further includes monitoring the environment of a recipient for a predetermined initiating energy condition, and enabling the message delivery system to communicate such message immediately after sensing such initiating energy condition.
Accordingly, the responsiveness of the present method and system is optimized regardless of the environment created by the recipient of the telephone network. This is effectuated by establishing continuous communication between a silence detector, an echo canceller and a message player. Message delivery ceases when a predetermined level of speech or noise from the recipient is detected, and such delivery recommences upon sensing the predetermined energy/silence condition. As a result, the entire pre-recorded message is delivered to the recipient.
It is another advantage of the present invention to facilitate the transmission of a predetermined number of messages, each in its entirety, to a live recipient or recording device. This advantage is accomplished by establishing communication between a silence detector, an echo canceller and a message player, which allows pre-recorded messages to be delivered from one to a predetermined number of times, and where such delivery is recommenced whenever a noise or speech energy signal interrupts the delivery of the pre-recorded message.
These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art after review of the detailed description, figures and claims of the present invention.